


Introduction to Shakespeare

by montanaism



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, References to Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-13 17:42:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15369885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/montanaism/pseuds/montanaism
Summary: "Study of acting in Shakespearean plays. Practical work includes scene study, the development of skills required to perform in verse and an introduction to the mentality and physical sense of different periods and styles."





	1. Chapter 1

“This has got to be the weirdest acting class.” Jackson voices, the prof gone and the others packing up. “The first in the history of acting classes where there are more guys than girls? Seriously?”

Jaebum considered this as he put his notebook away, looking around at his classmates. The class was relatively small. Ten of them, three of them girls. 

His theatre minor was going to take a hit on him this semester. He was packed with two theory courses along with an extra set of class hours because of this acting intensive. Usually they carried over the whole year, but Jaebum didn’t have any time for the regular course before graduation. He had to get this mandatory credit in. 

Which Jaebum thinks he won’t mind. His reaction to needing to take a course on such a topic would benefit him in the long run, and he will be more grateful in the end. He looks forward to it— he humbly believes that acting comes naturally to him. 

Jaebum smiled to himself.

Just kidding. He thinks he fucking excels at it. 

He’s never taken a class with the university because he feels its such unnecessary thing to learn when you already have the natural born talent for it. He’s already been in quite a few student videos and films, people naturally flocking to him because of his looks, persona, and natural charisma in front of the camera. He believes the way he’s able to convey emotions really speaks to the screen, and the realistic way he is able to capture the scene makes the film students take an akin to him. 

But not really. They simply love the angst he brings, essentially.

Jaebum shrugs, “It should make pairing the scenes easier, there are more scenes with two men interacting in Shakespeare than the other way around, right?”

“Not interesting ones.”

Jaebum immediately suppressed the need to roll his eyes at the voice behind him. Of course Jinyoung, the fucking teachers pet of the century, would have the audacity to eavesdrop on their conversation. He can’t keep his mouth shut anytime there's input needed— his opinion is apparently always worth sharing to the whole world. 

Or just the professor. But who knows. His answers are so obnoxious they can go either way.

He turned around to regard the guy, putting on a smile to seem polite, while Jackson immediately saddled up next to him, throwing his arm around his shoulders and giving the younger one a small shake and a pinch to the cheeks, which made Jinyoung wince and try to dodge his actions.

“Why do you gotta be so smart Jinyoung? Huh? Do you know everything in that big head? Is that why your ears are so big?” Jackson cooed, still persisting with his roaming hands. 

Jinyoung struggled to duck out of his embrace, trying to appear annoyed but obviously still enjoying it, slapping back at him with a barely concealed smile.

Attention whore. Jaebum thought, turning back to his back and picking it up.  
“Yes, I try to know some things about Shakespeare, you know, being in theatre and all that.” Jinyoung said, his nose slightly turned up in the air, “But most of the scenes that people remember from his plays for two people are between either men and women or two women. I wouldn’t be surprised if the professor decided to assign a man to play Juliet or something.”

Jaebum snorted, “What, is he gonna make us wear a dress or something? Why would he do that?”

With a subtle glare that Jaebum entirely picked up on, Jinyoung huffed a little and turned completely towards him, “I mean you could if you wanted to. I just plan on taking the scene seriously if that were me.”

“You wanna be assigned a girl role? Fine by me.” Jaebum snickered, “I for sure wouldn’t want the damsel in distress. But to each their own.” 

Jinyoug just continued to look at him with this annoying, unimpressed face, just standing there. That just made Jaebum get more annoyed real quick, and he stood his ground, continuing to meet his gaze. He shook his head a bit and tilted it, “You okay? You don’t need to keep giving me that look. Class is over.”

Jinyoung’s face dropped, and he replied in a flat tone, “You’re stepping on my jacket.”

Jaebum immediately looked down and sure enough, his Adidas sneakers were leaving a pretty footmark on Jinyoung’s Tommy Hilfigure pea coat.

Jinyoung scooped it up with no hesitation and left after Jaebum sheepishly stepped to the side, leaving him to look at the ground for an embarrassing second.

“Jesus.” Jackson whistled, “What the fuck did that guy do to you?”

 

Jinyoung never actually did anything to Jaebum. He was just kind of put off by his first impression of him in a non-lecture like setting. It was well known in the Theatre department that Jinyoung was a favourite of the profs, constantly getting high marks for his initiative and his talent. Jaebum thought that those praises were a pile of horse shit, and that it didn’t take a genius to unlock how to read and memorize a script. He already had an impression of him walking into the classroom, but just to see it in action in the flesh, Jaebum was not impressed, and honestly, refused to ever be impressed entering the acting studio. 

Until they got through the monologues, of fucking course.

Of god damned course, Jinyoung was almost given the famous Hamlet one. The prof insisted on it, but instead, Jinyoung brought forth this Iago piece from Othello that honestly left Jaebum a little speechless. He had no idea that Jinyoung could transform so well, and with such energy and understanding of the text. 

For a second while he was performing, Jaebum felt this hatred for Jinyoung, but not for Jinyoung himself— no, but because he truly saw him as the famous villain who was convinced he was doing the right thing by tricking the Moor into killing his own wife, for deceiving him into committing a crime so ungodly because it would further his own gains. 

At one point, Jinyoung looked into Jaebum’s eyes and told him:  
So will I turn her virtue into pitch/ And out of her own goodness to make the net/ That shall enmesh them all./

Jaebum truly felt for a second Jinyoung meant Desdemona, and on a deeper level, even himself from how intently he spoke those words to him.

The praise he got from he professor was well deserved. 

When it came to his own turn, he had an Edmund monologue from King Lear, which he felt confident going into, but as soon as he stopped, the professor said.

“It literally sound like you just memorized the words.”

Which was not far off from what he did. 

The classes always consisted of these weird exercises that Jaebum did not get. Repeating the same opening line over and over again did nothing to help him understand the character. He underlined all the assonances and circled all the alliteration out of requirement, but when he asked Jackson the third time what this has to do with acting, Jackson, of all damned people, got frustrated with him.

“I don’t know how else to explain it to you man, just ask someone else.”

Which Jaebum absolutely did not want to do. He went home that day to write the rest of his essay, and left it at that until a few days before to start trying to memorize every detail. 

But when his professor was staring him straight down, he gulped.

She peered at him over her glasses, “Who are you talking to?”

He starched his head, a little embarrassed at being questioned like this, “Uh, the people— I mean the audience. Its a soliloquy. It’s just me.”

“Okay.” She said, putting her pen down, “I did not get that. You barely looked at us. You barely asked us questions.” She awaited a response for a long three seconds, crossed her arms and sighed, “Honestly it was as if we were not there. The biggest thing to remember is it’s never just you. You have to talk to us.”

With that, Jaebum’s eyes found Jinyoung’s, who was looking at him with this intensity that made Jaebum snap his eyes back to the prof. 

“Okay. Thank you.” Jaebum nodded his head in a small bow and rushed to his seat. 

His professor watched him for a second before she cleared her throat and called up the next person.

 

The rest of the week was humiliating to say the least. 

Jackson couldn’t stop reliving Jaebums absolute failure of a performance, with keen detail and complaints galore that Jackson thought were empathetic rather than annoying the older boy. Jaebum couldn’t stop replaying the words, “It’s not just you up there,” and the moment he locked eyes with Jinyoung. 

Actually both times. 

Jaebum knew exactly what she meant as soon as she said it. He was so focused on getting the emotions out and trying to seem as intense as possible, that he totally forgot it was a soliloquy, and that he was trying to convince rather than amaze. It was the exact opposite of what his character was trying to do, and what he needed to do.

But as he sat on the bench outside the classroom, waiting for the class before them to be dismissed 20 minutes earlier than they’re scheduled to, like they always are (dumbass first years), while also trying to tune out Jacksons colourful story about his commute this morning to his physical science class (“I’m telling you man, the bus driver nearly hit me on purpose”) he wa approached by the very man that plagued his thoughts. 

Jaebum froze in his seat and fought the urge to crumple up into a ball in defense, like an armadillo, and hopefully schooled his face to a neutral, but still friendly and approachable, expression for the lad in front of him.

He tried not to stare too hard at his eye contact and blurt out he has weirdly large ears.

No his ears weren’t that big, his head is just small.

“What?”

Fuck he said that out loud. And coherent enough where he had Jackson guffawing and choking on his iced coffee, enough where he excused himself to the washroom to get some water.

Jinyoung good naturedly smiled and nodded as he left, but melted into a questionable gaze as he turned back to Jaebum.

Nearly blushing from embarrassment in front of the man, he sunk into his seat some more and muttered, “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. Your ears are fine.”

Jinyoung softly touched his ears, “I know they are.” And he took a deep breath, huffing out a small laugh after a second. “I didn’t realize I would still get made fun of for them in university though.”

Immediately Jaebum felt like shit and sunk even further, but Jinyoung immediately laughed at his reaction.

“No no no, don’t worry about it- I was joking too.” He shifted his coffee from one hand to another. “My ears are kind of big, but I’ve learned to call them my charm point instead.”

Jaebum relaxed at this, chuckling along with him to ease the tension. Jinyoung took this as an opportunity to sit down, making Jaebum shift a little to turn towards him.

“So we’re probably going to be put into groups today. Do you know what scene you want to get?”

Jaebum shrugged, “I don’t know. Probably Brutus and Cassius, that one where they’re fighting over who’s the blame and stuff.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m not too well versed in many others.” 

“From Julius Caesar?” Jinyoung sat up straighter, “Oh, that would be so good with you and Jackson. The back and forth is amazing, you guys would nail it.”

Jaebum barked out a laugh, “Yeah, he knows how to weasel out what he wants from people for sure. But I don’t think our prof would ever put us together. We spend too much time with one another.”

The door to their classroom opened and student started to file out, the hallway now being filled with noise and chatter. They both stood up, ready to go in, and Jaebum turned to Jinyoung, who was looking at the wall, but he cleared his throat, “What about you?”

His head turned to him, “Hm?”

“Do you want a specific scene?”

Jinyoung shook his head no and walked forward to enter the class, “No, I haven’t really given it much thought. I think she's already decided the list, so I have a feeling of who I’m getting paired with and with what.”

But of course, he didn’t.

“Jinyoung and JB,” She announced, looking up to look at the both of them. They both perked up, glancing at each other hesitantly and with some surprise. “I think you both are suited to this piece, and will complement and give it the energy it needs. I’ve chosen for you a scene from Much Ado About Nothing, with Jaebum as Benedick, and,” She looked at Jinyoung,”Because of the uneven genders in this class, and this scene being one of my favourites, I think Jinyoung is capable enough of taking on the role of Beatrice.”

There was an immediate flurry of excitement in the class, Jinyoung smiled and nodded with grace, the girls hummed in approval, and only two boys held back their snickers until Jackson hissed at them that they’re probably gonna get a girl role too so shut your trap.

The prof raised her voice a little to gain attention again, “Since it is from one of Shakespeare’s comedies, there’s a certain challenge to find the back and forth between the argumentative side of it and the rhetoric. The flow of it between one another will be your task, and I am very much looking forward to this scene.” She nodded to the both of them and handed the script to them.

Jaebum nodded back and thanked her, taking the script from her hand and immediately looking at the paper. 

He now realized that he was shaking. And when he looked over at Jinyoung, he could have swore he was too.

 

Jaebum dragged over a chair to their little corner, script in hand Jinyoung already had his small planner out, and was flipping through the next three weeks.

“Are you free on Wednesdays and Saturdays?” Jinyoung asked, looking up at him to question.

Nodding softly to him, Jinyoung right back and went right back to his planner, “Okay, those are the only days I have off. We could meet for like two hours each time, and when it comes closer, we can decide to add in more time. I have a few hours in between classes and stuff leading up to that Thursday class, so we can have some there if it works for you.”

Jaebum just nodded again and hummed in agreement.

“Do you think we should be off book by next Saturday? I think we should, the text doesn’t seem so hard to memorize, and it’s definitely not as long as the other ones.”

Jinyoung looked up at Jaebum for his reaction, but he was staring off to the side, and annoyance crept up his back very quickly, snapping his planner shut, “Look, if you’re uncomfortable doing this scene with me, we can just go to the prof and ask to switch. I’m sure she would understand.”

That caught Jaebum’s attention, and he sat up straighter in his seat, “No, that’s not it- I mean,” He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled, “We’re like, the only ones switching genders. She paired two of the three girls in this class together-”

“Jeongyeon and Sana are doing Twelfth Night. That is definitely a scene that needs to happen in a class like this and they’re perfect for it-”

“But considering everyone else has roles that fit their gender, wouldn’t it make more sense to-”

“Do you think I can’t do it?”

Jinyoung looked almost hurt, and Jaebum quickly backtracked, “No! No, it’s just, I think it would be-”

“Gay?” 

Jaebum clamped his mouth shut and closed his eyes. It definitely-

“It would be gay.” Jinyoung said matter of factly, “That’s the point. Whether or not she wants me to play it as a boy or as a girl. This scene might be about gender dynamics, but the emotions and the rhetoric are what really speaks here. But what seems to be speaking in this moment is the fact that you’re homophobic.” He snapped.

It got deadly silent between the two of them. The rest of the class went on, not paying attention the heated discussion that went down, and they just stared at each other.

Jaebum opened his mouth to speak, “I… I’m not…”

Ducking his head back down, Jinyoung went back to his planner tensely, “Well that’s what it seems like.” 

“I’m not- I’m,” Jaebum sighed and leaned forward, “I’m not homophobic. I’m not gay, but…” He lowered his voice when Jinyoung narrowed his eyes, “I know I’m not straight either so that's not what I’m questioning. I’m just questioning why she would make this decision, I…” He rubbed his eyes, “Sorry if it came off that way. And you’re right. It shouldn’t matter. Your acting skills are worthy of taking this on, and I’m sorry I made you question that.”

The planner was put back into his bag softly, and Jinyoung nodded, albeit a little jerky. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that. I just get defensive really fast.”

“It’s okay. That’s what I was appearing to be, I see that now.”

“Yeah but-”

“Sorry.”

“- Sorry”.

There was a moment before Jinyoung brought back out his script, “Uh, okay, so should we read through it together then?”

“Yeah.” Jaebum reached back for his own script.

“Let’s feel it out first, and worry about the acting later.”

“Good guys! Glad you’re taking those steps first.”

Jaebum nearly jumped out of his seat and turned around to regard the prof. Thank god she approached at that moment. Jinyoung smiled brightly at her and Jaebum grimaced inwardly at how that kiss ass attitude still annoyed him.

“I know I kind of put you two on the spot with this casting decision, but I honestly think this scene is going to be one to look out for. You two can learn a lot from each other.” 

Jaebum couldn’t control the face he made in time, and the prof took notice, “What’s with the face JB?” She said endearingly.

He schooled his face back to a neutral one in the blink of an eye, “What face?”

“You don’t believe me?” She was smiling as she said this, so Jaebum relented a bit, avoiding Jinyoung’s gaze.

“Well, with all respect to Jinyoung’s abilities, I’m not sure what he can learn from me.”

The prof gave a good natured chuckle, “Well, as capable as he is, you have a lot of potential and work going on in your brain while you act. While your main goal is to push out as much intense emotion without actually letting us see it, I know as soon as it gets let out, Jinyoung can benefit from having all of that to play with. Jinyoung,” She turned to him, “You can definitely learn from this to start tackling that pesky one-man-show that keeps appearing in your performances.” 

Never hearing of this critique before, Jaebum turned to look at the younger, whose ears have turned red and was nodding sheepishly. 

The prof smiled at Jaebum “We’ve talked about this when he came to get one on one feedback, so I think it’s good for you to know that while his performances in his monologues are stellar, his scene work sometimes tends to put the focus on him more than the duo.” Glancing back at Jinyoung, “Give and take, right Jinyoung? And we’re working on that?”

Jinyoung gave a small laugh and nodded, “Yes, very much so.”

She gave them a nice nod and wished them well, moving onto the other groups to check up on them. Jaebum looked at Jinyoung again with a smile.

“One man show?”

“Shut the fuck up, I’m working on it.”

Jaebum barked out a laugh and returned to his script, clearing his throat.

“Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?”

Jinyoung swallowed his laugh as well. 

“Yea- and I will weep a while longer.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jaebum had to admit- he was looking forward to the scene. He entered the classroom, already in high hopes that it would be a successful day of learning lines and blocking. But, of course, the prof had already set out a little itinerary on the board. 

Jaebum groaned inwardly. If there was one thing he hated more than scansion of the text (a very tedious procedure that Jaebum felt he did not learn from in the least) was the stupid exercises and one of them on the list for today was called “Paper Person”.

Jaebum closed his eyes and cursed himself for coming in today.

“For the first task today, we will start by each taking a blank piece of paper.” 

Jaebum held his paper delicately in his hands, and wondered if he should cross the room and get his pen, but the professor spoke up as soon as a couple people moved to get their own, “You will not be needing writing utensils for this exercise! Just the paper and your partner. Please find a place in the room and face each other a few feet away, enough for both of you to move.”

Jinyoung approached Jaebum with ease, giving him a closed mouth smile in greeting before turning to listen to the instructions.

It seemed straightforward. The paper moves around as the first person wishes, and it is supposed to act as a controller over the other person. The other person should interpret and reflect the paper as needed. 

Jaebum nodded in understanding with the rest of the class before the prof let them begin.

“Is it okay if I’m the controller first?” Jinyoung said, taking a couple steps back to give them space. Jaebum nodded, not caring either way, and prepared himself to move with the paper.

He honestly couldn’t even see how this can relate to acting. He supposes that it should be something to do with reacting to what your partner gives, but nothing ever seemed to strike him as useful, and something that he would be able to use in the scene. 

Bending the paper in half slowly, Jinyoung began the exercise. Jaebum figures he could just bend over and touch the ground, moving with the speed of the paper. Jinyoung moved the paper upright, and he stood up straight. He moved it side to side, slowly to one, then the other, and Jaebum lifted his arms to match. 

Jinyoung smiled suddenly and moved the paper side to side a little quicker, making Jaebum imitate it in a dance-like manner. Jaebum couldn’t contain his smile as well, as they moved with each other to their own beat. 

After a few moments Jinyoung changed it, pinching the paper from the top and wriggling it so it shook in waves. Immediately, Jaebum started doing a body wave as fast as he could to follow the movements of the paper. Jinyoung laughed out loud at his antics, which gathered the attention of the prof.

“Good Jaebum. Jinyoung, do you think you could get more creative? Give him a little run for his money?”

His eyebrows rose, and then furrowed, thinking of something more challenging to do. After a second an idea came, and Jaebum watched his face light up before crumpling the paper into his hands.

Jaebum stood there, not knowing what to do. How the hell- 

“Jaebum! Do not think! Just do!”

Jaebum looked at the prof, and than at Jinyoung, who proceeded to open up the paper and crumple it again. 

He caved into himself, hunching his shoulders and tightening his arms to his body. Was he doing this right? He looked back at the prof again, unsure.

“Yes Jaebum! Commit! Keep going! Don’t look to me for permission!”

Jaebum’s heart started to beat a little, having the prof encourage him with such passion and Jinyoung staring at him with the rest of the class. Jinyoung crumpled the paper even more, and Jaebum did what as asked of him- he commited. 

He crumpled in on himself even more, even bending at the knees, and when Jinyoung rolled it into a ball, he went all the way down. Jinyoung then uncrumpled the paper, leaving Jaebum to weakly get back up, seeing the poor condition of the blank sheet. 

Jinyoung looked like he was having too much fun, inadvertently beating Jaebum up with the paper. He held out though, keeping up to the same energy that the prof had approved even after she continued to move about the room to the next pair, but by the end of the five minutes, Jaebum was a little winded and Jinyoung almost had a full smile from how much fun he had tossing the paper around, and his eye whiskers showed to the whole class. 

“Okay! Switch and begin.”

Jaebum got up from his current situation on the ground in a heartbeat, staring at Jinyoung as intense as he wants his payback to be, while Jinyoung’s grin melted into a determined and challenging smirk. 

Jaebum snatched up his untouched paper from the ground and held it in front of him for a second, before slapping it on the ground with a loud smack.

Jinyoung took it in a stride, slipping to the ground with a matching relative speed, and continued to look at the elder expectantly. 

Then Jaebum stepped on the paper.

Slowly, at first, Jinyoung looked at him with surprise before flattening his body to the ground as much as he could. When Jaebum made to put more pressure on the paper, Jinyoung’s reflection of the paper transferred from the physicality of his body to his face, grimacing as he tried to experience the weight of Jaebum on the paper. 

Then he lifted his foot off, letting Jinyoung have a moment of relief, before placing his foot back down and kicking the paper behind him.

Jinyoung rolled the same way quickly, and when he stopped he looked at him, his smile gone, and his brow furrowed in concentration. Jaebum moved out of the way and quickly scooped up the paper again, with Jinyoung scrambling to follow suit, and forcfully slapped the paper against the wall. 

Jinyoung threw himself against the wall, and maybe a little too hard, because he saw him wince slightly. Jaebum thought he was dumb for trying to imitate the paper as hard as he was, and he picked up the paper and slammed it again and again and again.

At that point Jinyoung stilled, and stared at him. That’s when Jaebum noticed how quiet it was around him. 

The whole class was looking at them, and the prof was walking quietly towards them. She stopped in front of them before turning around looking at the rest of the class.

Jaebum for a second thought she would say one of her anecdotes to relate the subject, or maybe something about what they just did. Instead, she dismissed everyone for a ten minute break. 

The silence broke and everyone went to their bags, soft murmurs and conversations taking place between students, but Jaebum and Jinyoung just stayed there. The prof turned back around to them.

“Come outside with me. Let’s talk.”

She turned and started walking, and Jinyoung immediately followed as Jaebum took the time to soak in what had just happened. 

He watch Jinyoung as he fixed his clothes, his light blue overshirt in a little disarray from how much he moved just then. Jaebum felt something curdle in his stomach as he hurried to catch up.

“Now, I know that I encourage immersive mindsets in my classroom- but what on earth happened in there?”

The two men stood there, their heads hung down a little as the much smaller women looked at them in concern. There was a split moment of quiet before Jinyoung spoke up.

“It was my fault, professor, I intended to rile him up and he was just reacting to that-”

“- yeah I think I took it personally a bit. I should not have gone that far.” Jaebum continued. They both kind of let it get out of hand, he thought, though he knew he was responsible for his own feelings and how he interpreted it. 

The prof simply looked at the both of them, before telling Jinyoung to have his break. 

Jinyoung’s eyes widened a bit in surprise, and he nodded and bowed to her before glancing at Jaebum and entering the studio again. 

Jaebum swallowed a bit and looked at the professor, who was looking at him gently.

“You know, Jaebum, I don’t want you two to hurt each other.”

Jaebum made a small noise of frustration, “Yes, I know. I thought I was doing it correctly. He was just- I thought it was personal, the way he was doing it to me, and I- I used my emotions to react accordingly.”

The prof still looked at him in concern, “Jaebum, in acting it might be good sometimes to follow your personal feelings- and I get why you would want to do that,” She placed a hand on his shoulder, very gently, “But sometimes, even when yourself would react differently, it’s not you who is reacting. Remember that.”

Jaebum rubbed the side of his face, “Yeah, but Jinyoung- the way he crumpled up that paper, it made me-”

“Jinyoung was being Beatrice.” She said firmly. Jaebum looked back at her. “Jinyoung was doing exactly what Beatrice is trying to do to Benedick in the beginning. She’s trying to squash his efforts. She wants him to leave- or who knows, maybe she doesn’t. That’s up to Jinyoung to decide- but the point is,” She tilted her head, “Benedick doesn’t react that way. That might have been Jaebum reacting, but Benedick would never do that in that moment.”

Jaebum had to glance away from the prof. She was entirely right. 

Jinyoung was just being Beatrice with how she controlled him. Jaebum was Benedick, and even if he was frustrated- it was all in good fun. They jested and bickered, but they never actually fought. 

Well, until this scene. Which is the whole point of this piece, and why it was so interesting. 

“Benedick, at this moment, what does he tell her after she tells him she’s going to keep crying?”

Jaebum thought for a moment, “‘I will not desire that.’” He said quietly.

She nods, “He perseveres. He lets her know even when she is throwing all these curveballs at him, he will be there no matter what.” She poked him, “Now take that energy that you had to retaliate, and use it to put effort into making Jinyoung listen.”

Jaebum nodded. She smiled at him, and Jaebum felt a sudden release of tension throughout his body. He finally understood a lot of how he’s supposed to go about these exercises- the relationship between their characters is much more than just reaction- it's about reaction in relation to their own human feelings. 

She told him to come back inside after he’s got his bearings, and left him alone.

Water. He needed some water. He made his way down the hallway to the fountain, bending down and taking a long swig. 

Now he thought about the unnecessary and pent up frustration he took out on Jinyoung. The whole situation lasted barely a minute, but Jaebum nearly slumped into the water fountain in embarrassment from this realization. He really tried to beat up Jinyoung via paper- how the hell did he manage to let him rile him up that fast? Was he 12?

Jaebum stood up and rubbed his eyes, trying to erase the memories of anger management classes he had to take when he was younger. The way he had resorted to indirect violence was too much like how his child self used to lash out. 

He wanted to be scared of it but he knew that Jinyoung would have had that effect on him since the first day they met, if he was being honest. 

He knows he had nothing against the man. Jinyoung has been very nice up to this point. He curses himself, remembering that Jinyoung also put himself up for blame when the professor took them aside- even when Jaebum knew that it was his own fault for letting his personal feelings take over.

Jinyoung made him lash out in the most human way possible- like he opens a dam within Jaebum allowing him to not hold back his emotions.

And god, it scares him to death.

Jaebum is a very controlled person, and has been for a very long time. He taught himself to be the bigger man, and to internalize the unattractive feelings that could very potentially ruin his relationships.

He has let go a few times since then. Significant others who left him because of a blow up that Jaebum couldn’t control. Good friends who didn’t know how to handle Jaebum’s mess, and his inability to process it in a healthy way. 

Those were slip ups. His anger and his sadness is never to be trifled with- which, he guesses, is why he’s such an angsty person to end with. Why he’s never able to share his emotions freely on camera, and how his eyes can do all the talking- if the angle is right and pretty. 

No one wants passion unless it’s contained and poetic.

Jaebum went back to the classroom, going up to Jackson and only hummed at his inquiry (“You good bro?”) before settling down next to him. He didn’t say much for the rest of the break, opting to stay quiet during the conversation happening around him. 

When the break was over, he met back with Jinyoung on the side of the room, the prof letting them work on lines for the next part of the class to prepare for the next exercise. 

Expecting a glare, or some sort of cold silence, Jaebum didn’t know how to react when Jinyoung gave him a soft smile. 

Jaebum couldn’t really react.

“Sorry for slamming you against the wall.”

Jinyoung must have been surprised at this, because he let out this loud honk of a laugh suddenly. 

Never hearing Jinyoung’s laugh ever come out of him like that, Jaebum couldn’t help the smile that took over his face, “What? Is that funny?”

Jinyoung tried to contain his laugh, strong holding it into a small chuckle, and covering his mouth. Jaebum noticed his ears turning red, “No, no, it’s okay. I just figured you were, I don’t know, feeling it.” He got up from his place on the floor, taking up his jacket and placing it neatly to the side. “I wasn’t really offended, just kind of curious why you did that.” He shrugged, “And out of breath, honestly. I was kind of scared what you would make me do next.”

Jaebum gave him a look, “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” 

Raising his eyebrows, Jinyoung turned towards him so fast, “Oh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean you don’t really look like the type to keep up, you know,” Jaebum said, putting his script in front of him to dismiss the conversation, “I didn’t want to do something you couldn’t do.”

Jinyoung narrowed his eyes, but Jaebum was hardly looking at him. He slowly nodded, “We’ll discuss this later.” He murmured, and brought up his script, trying to focus on the task at hand again and tried not to appear offended as he was, “Um, from the beginning?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat, and Jaebum began.

“Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?”

“Yea,” Jinyoung leaned on one side of his leg, “and I will weep a while longer.”

Jaebum stood up straighter, “I would not desire that.”

“You have no reason- I do it freely.” Jinyoung put his hand on his hip, giving him a cold glare.

Jaebum felt himself swallow from his even gaze, but continued, “Surely I do believe your fair cousin is wronged.”

“Ah,” Jinyoung threw up his hands and huffed out a laugh, “how much the might the man deserve of me that would right her!”

Jaebum paused at this, remembering his newfound characterization, and looked at Jinyoung with soft eyes, “Is there any way to show such friendship?”

Jinyoung paused, and there was a moment of silence before he muttered an apology and went back to his script for a second, “Um. A- uh, a very even way- wait can we start from the beginning?”

Surprised, Jaebum just nodded, going to the first line, “Uh, Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat again, but this time he looked at him with some disdain, “Yea- and I will weep a while longer.”

Jaebum paused, taking in his words, and mulling over them. This was one thing Jaebum never really got until now. Beatrice is very defensive- evident in even one line from the whole scene. The fact that Benedick is now coming at her with a newfound determination to get her to open up is very sudden, and quite a change of character than the way they acted to each other before. It’s something that Jaebum has to suspend his own feelings for- how can this man change heart about this woman, who he has bickered with for the entire play, just because of hearsay? 

Jaebum cleared his throat again, “I will not desire that.” He winced at his own words, not liking how fake it came out and not believing himself in the slightest. Jinyoung simply looked at him, questioning, but Jaebum shook his head and nodded to continue.

Jinyoung lifted hsi script once more, “You have no reason, I do it freely.”

There it was again. The more Jaebum thought about it, the more he was confused at Benedicks reaction. This is all out of love for Beatrice, his constant attempts. Before today, he never really clued into how much this man was trying.

Jinyoung script waved in front of his, “Hello?” Jaebum looked up at him, where he stood with a concerned look on his face, “What is it Jaebum?”

“Nothing. I just-”

“Class! Gather around. We will start the next exercise.”

Jinyoung looked annoyed at the interruption, but as quickly as his face scrunched up, it was schooled back into a neutral, obedient pupil persona. 

Jaebum hated the annoyance that crept up on him automatically from witnessing the change cross his face.

Even if he wanted to take on this project with him, for the sake of his integrity in the class and for something to prove to his professor, he knew he had to work on it. Slowly Jaebum felt like he was beginning to understand where Jinyoung comes from-- he can already see how differently he thinks and acts, and where that comes from inside of him.

He may understand but that doesn’t stop him from getting ticked off though. 

He knew he had to work on it, but now, watching him as he stands across from the prof, intently paying all of his attention to her, he knows it will probably come with time. The small amount they had talked made him curious about Jinyoung- and he knew Jinyoung was curious about him.

Jinyoung glanced at him and Jaebum snapped away, realizing he was staring. 

They’ll get better with each other.

Eventually, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys want to read the scene that they’re doing, let me know if I should add it in as a chapter itself. 
> 
> Otherwise, thanks for reading!


End file.
